So, I had been planning on doing a weekend overnight with a buddy of mine who I'm trying to get back into backpacking. We had been planning on doing the Pinchot Trail (ca. 23-24 mi, apparently pretty easy), and that's still plan A.
However, there's currently a massive manhunt going on in the immediate area (within 20 miles or so) for a guy who shot up a state police barracks and is currently hiding out in the woods heavily armed. The area was pretty locked down as of this weekend (schools closed, roads blocked), so I'm at least planning to have an alternate in mind. Any suggestions that fit the following?
* 2-3 hours from Philadelphia (not my rule- I'm not the one doing the driving)(I know that bumping it up to 4 increases the options pretty dramatically, but I don't think I can swing that.
* 20-25 miles
* Preferably loop. Out and back is a possibility.
* Not too difficult (again, not my rule. I learned on our last trip a few years ago that my friend and I have very, very different ideas about what counts as an "easy" hike)
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I am maybe thinking about doing the Loyalsock/Link Loop at World's End State Park, but I'm curious for other ideas. I've been trying to get this friend outside again for a long time, so I really don't want to let this weekend go to waste.
Of course, ideally they'll catch the guy and I can just go on my stupid hike, but I want to have a backup plan in place just in case. It just seems like a crappy idea to go for a hike in the same general area as a manhunt.
